Unavailability of ambulance delays treatment; autorickshaw driver dies in accident in Palakkad

Agali/Palakkad: An autorickshaw driver, who sustained injuries in an accident and was denied immediate treatment due to delay in arranging an ambulance, died here on Saturday.
The deceased, Faisal, also known as Linson, 28, of Ommala Panavechaparambil, was seriously injured when a large tree fell on his vehicle at around 3pm.

A huge tree near Goolikadavu Church was suddenly uprooted and one of its branches hit the autorickshaw, tearing open the front part. Though Faisal was rushed to Kottathara Government Taluk Hospital, it took another three and a half hours before he could be shifted to Perinthalmanna in Malappuram for further treatment.

The hospital’s only Jeevanraksha ambulance was under maintenance for the past month. The ambulance, purchased with funds donated by Palakkad MP VK Sreekantan, developed a technical fault with the air conditioning system and was taken to a workshop in Thrissur last month. The hospital authorities are yet to collect the vehicle after repairs.
As no ambulance was available, the authorities had to arrange one from Mannarkkad, which arrived at the hospital at 6.30 pm. As his condition continued to deteriorate, he was taken to a private hospital in Perinthalmanna, but to no avail. Faisal is survived by his wife Sefeena and son Mishab.

Six ambulances in the fleet, none in use
The Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulance, which was serviced last month, previously served as the primary means of saving lives across the Attappady region.
According to VK Sreekantan MP, the ambulance cum intensive care unit was purchased for Rs 3.8 million.
“This was the first ambulance of its kind in the entire district. However, the health department has failed to use the service effectively. It did not deploy enough staff and experienced drivers and the vehicle has been involved in accidents several times. This is a serious failure of the government,” he noted.

Only a few months ago, the authorities elevated the Kottathara Government Tribal Special Hospital to the status of a taluk-level facility. Of the hospital’s six ambulances, only four are currently operational. One of the remaining two has been out of service for several months.
Only one vehicle in the ambulance fleet is new; the others are mostly under repair due to their age and the poor condition of the roads.
The only option left is the two remaining 108 ambulances that are currently in use.

Another major problem related to the operation of these vehicles is the lack of funds for diesel and timely maintenance. Two of the ambulance drivers were appointed by the Public Service Commission (PSC) while the remaining four drivers were appointed by the Hospital Management Committee. Even if the vehicle is available, there may not be drivers to operate it.
In such cases, people depend on the ambulances provided by Ramesh Chennithala for Sholayur and former MP MB Rajesh for Puthur. The community health centre in Agali now has no ambulances.